1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a body pillow. More particularly, the present invention involves a pillow with a horseshoe-shaped top to accommodate the upper portion of a person (head) and a J-shaped bottom for accommodating the lower portion (legs) of the person; in a miniaturized form, a similarly shaped body pillow accommodates the head of a child in the region of the horseshoe-shaped top and accommodates the lower region of the child in the J-shaped portion. For infants, the second embodiment can be secured with ties to form a nest.
2. Prior Art
There are many patents that show or relate to body pillows. Some of the body pillows are designed particularly for infants, some particularly for small children and some especially for adults. It is believe to be novel to provide a pillow with a horseshoe-shaped top and a J-shaped bottom which is particularly designed, in one embodiment, to accommodate an adult and in a second embodiment, to accommodate a small child or even an infant. A preliminary patentability search was conducted on this invention and the following listed references were uncovered in the search.
The above patents are not considered to be particularly pertinent to the present invention. However, Brownrigg U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,854 discloses a pillow that appears to be almost as long as a persons body but it seems to be ultra flexible and whether or not tucking one part of it between the legs will satisfy the cooling feature of the present invention is questionable. In column 3, lines 20 through 26 of the Brownrigg patent, it says that one embodiment involves blowing between 48 to 56 and 58 ounces of polyester fiber into a 100 inch lateral body supporting pillow having a diameter of 4.5 inches. The preferred embodiment involves blowing 42 to 46 ounces of a polymer into a 78 inch lateral body supporting pillow having a diameter of 4.5 inches.
The Matthews U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,687 is simply a horseshoe-shaped pillow with an animals head attached to one end.
The Zenoff U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,833 shows a support pillow shaped to conform to the users body. However, the pillow does not extend for the full length of the body and primarily serves to encircle a portion of the users body.
A support pillow having a horseshoe-shaped top and a J-shaped bottom connected together by a straight section. Preferably, the diameter of the straight section (this diameter applies to the horseshoe portion and the J-shaped portion as well) is preferably about 8 inches but can be between 6 inches and 12 inches.
With respect to the embodiment that is used for an adult, the length of the straight portion between the upper horseshoe portion and the lower J-shaped portion should be between 48 and 56 inches and is preferably approximately 52 inches. In the smaller version of this body pillow which is used for infants and toddlers, the length of the mid-section should be between 24 and 32 inches and is preferably approximately 28 inches. In the smaller version, ties are provided at the end of the J-shaped portion and near the end of the horseshoe-shaped portion for tying the ends of the pillow together for different formations.